TheJakartaPost

Please Update your browser

Your browser is out of date, and may not be compatible with our website. A list of the most popular web browsers can be found below.
Just click on the icons to get to the download page.

Jakarta Post

Ahok's blasphemy case becomes most popular issue in 2016: Survey

Safrin La Batu (The Jakarta Post)
Jakarta
Thu, December 22, 2016

Share This Article

Change Size

Ahok's blasphemy case becomes most popular issue in 2016: Survey Jakarta Governor Basuki “Ahok” Tjahaja Purnama rides a bicycle in an open space in Kalijodo, a neighborhood formerly know for prostitution, which was demolished by the city administration several months ago. (Antara/Muhammad Adimaja)

T

he blasphemy case against Jakarta Governor Basuki "Ahok" Tjahaja Purnama was the most common issue discussed on social media in 2016, including on Facebook and Twitter, a survey revealed on Thursday.

The study recorded that there were more than 279 million entries about Ahok's blasphemy case on Google and as many as  5,730 articles about the Jakarta governor's case written up in the news, becoming viral on Facebook for more than three months and trending on Twitter 25 times.

"It is more popular than any other issue on social media in 2016," Digitroops chief executive officer Fahd Pahdepie said during the release of the survey in Jakarta on Thursday.

Digitroops CEO Fahd Pahdepie (right) explains a survey about the most common issues online in 2016.(JP/Safrin La Batu)

(Read also: Pro-Muslim programs cannot free Ahok from blasphemy charges: Prosecutors

Fahd said the blasphemy case attracted wide public attention in Indonesia because it involved religious sentiments and was taking place at the same time as the Jakarta gubernatorial election. 

Ahok was named a blasphemy suspect after he was videotaped mentioning a Quranic verse. The recording went viral after being abridged and posted on Facebook with misleading commentary. (dan)

Your Opinion Matters

Share your experiences, suggestions, and any issues you've encountered on The Jakarta Post. We're here to listen.

Enter at least 30 characters
0 / 30

Thank You

Thank you for sharing your thoughts. We appreciate your feedback.